Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Black Agenda Radio for Week of July 20, 2015
21 Jul 2015
🖨️ Print Article

Mumia “May Have Been Poisoned”

Six months after Mumia Abu Jamal nearly died from diabetic shock, the nation’s best known political prisoner’s underlying illness has yet to be diagnosed, said Dr. Johanna Fernandez, a professor of history at New York City’s Baruch College and member of Educators for Mumia. Abu Jamal’s maddeningly itching skin has turned a leathery black, and his output of commentaries and analysis for Prison Radio “has diminished significantly,” said Fernandez, who fears Mumia is suffering a “deeper, systemic problem” or “may have been poisoned.” Nevertheless, “Mumia is delighted and inspired by the movement against police violence that has emerged in the country,” and will continue to speak out “from the belly of the beast.” That’s why, she said, “over and over, the state has tried to silence and kill him.”

Obama’s Recent “Epiphanies” on U.S. Racism

President Obama’s recent discovery that “racism is part of the DNA of this country” was sparked by a need to reposition himself in the wake of the Charleston massacre and “the resistance that is growing among African people in this country,” said Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations. The Coalition is gearing up for a national conference, in Philadelphia, August 22 and 23, with a focus on Black community control of police, a stance that Yeshitela believes “resonates with Black people” and can put the struggle firmly on the road to self-determination.

TPP is a Black Issue

“Any agreement that has a detrimental impact on workers anywhere, is a Black issue,” said Ajamu Baraka, veteran human rights activist and editor and columnist for Black Agenda Report. “We are the victims of this global capitalist economy, and so we have solidarity and responsibilities to people in other parts of the world,” Baraka told Solomon Comissiong, of Your World News. President Obama’s proposed Trans Pacific Partnership is “specifically a Black issue because one can’t understand the objective material conditions in places like Baltimore, Detroit, Gary, Indiana, and South Bend, Michigan, without connecting these conditions to the transformation of the U.S. economy” by deindustrialization – which will further intensify under TPP.

Black Agenda Radio on the Progressive Radio Network is hosted by Glen Ford and Nellie Bailey. A new edition of the program airs every Monday at 11:00am ET on PRN. Length: One hour.



Your browser does not support the audio element.

listen
http://blackagendaradio.podbean.com/mf/web/wtvz7c/BAR_072015.mp3

More Stories


  • "Decolonizing" Science in Multi-Language Africa
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    "Decolonizing" Science in Multi-Language Africa
    20 Apr 2020
    South African communicator and journalist Sibusiso Biyela wrote an article on “decolonizing” science so that it is accessible to the country’s many indigenous language gr
  • Public Housing Neglect Creates Lethal Trap
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Public Housing Neglect Creates Lethal Trap
    20 Apr 2020
    “You have these areas that are not clean and, on top of that, you have folks that don’t have access to health care because of racism and capitalism,” said Philip McHarris, a Y
  • Covid-19 and the Black Working Class
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Covid-19 and the Black Working Class
    20 Apr 2020
    “Social distancing is sometimes not an option for us,” said New York City activist Betty Davis at a Black is Back Coalition national teleconference.
  • The End of Sanders, and Maybe the Beginning of a Mass Independent Left
    Glen Ford, BAR Executive Editor
    The End of Sanders, and Maybe the Beginning of a Mass Independent Left
    16 Apr 2020
    Sander’s early Return of the Prodigal Son to the bosom of the Party allows him to escape the deep critique of capitalist medicine and political-economy that would be required of a “leftish” preside
  • Freedom Rider: COVID-19 and Deadly Health Care for Black People
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: COVID-19 and Deadly Health Care for Black People
    15 Apr 2020
    Even if the United States had a strong public health system, Black and brown people would be plagued by racist medical practices.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us